- Travelling subscribers hit hard in the UK
- Roaming failures due to unpaid carrier fees
- International partners withhold connection
- Nigerian networks often face this problem
Nigerian mobile telecommunications operator, T2mobile, formerly known as 9mobile, is facing significant roaming connection setbacks across Europe after many of its subscribers who travelled out of Nigeria hoping to roam their lines found that the network has been cut off roaming by partners around the world.
Business a.m., which began monitoring the situation on May 31, has since determined that the roaming failures began much earlier.
In the United Kingdom, the network has for many years roamed through Vodafone, right from when it was known as Etisalat and later 9mobile. Many of the network’s subscribers who have travelled from Nigeria with a view to roaming their T2mobile lines, are now caught in a dilemma, unsure when roaming will return.
The Nigerian network has not issued any clear, direct explanation to its subscribers on the development but Business a.m. has learnt that roaming failures overseas like the current one are common with Nigerian networks and that these are usually down to debts owed to foreign partners who choose to cut roaming off as a result.
The current roaming disconnection, Business a.m. found, is not a blanket one on the Nigerian networks as MTN lines are roaming fine.
“Many subscribers are facing roaming failures due to unpaid foreign carrier fees,” said an analyst in the UK who explained the situation to Business a.m.
“Where roaming is lost service would normally seize as a result of the failure of some networks refusing to pay their international roaming partners,” she further said.
When contacted T2mobile did not clearly say its roaming had been cut off by its partners, but it acknowledged that its network was not able to provide roaming services because of a technical issue it was having.
“I apologize for the challenges with roaming your mobile number 0809xxxxxxx at your location.
“Please be informed that we have a roaming challenge across all destinations. Hence, the reason you may not have network on your line,” an official of the telco said in an email response to a customer’s enquiry.
Many of the network’s subscribers have particularly been badly affected because when they tried to register their WhatsApp account upon reaching their destinations across Europe, they found themselves stuck because they could not roam their T2 lines to receive the WhatsApp code required to validate their accounts.
“Please note that you are not getting the OTP code from whatsapp due to roaming network challenge,” the T2 email further explained.
In another email response to customer’s concern about the lack of roaming in Europe on the T2mobile network, the Nigerian network responded thus:
“Thank you for contacting us and sharing your concerns.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience you are experiencing while trying to access services on your line abroad.
“Please be informed that there is currently a downtime affecting the Global Roaming service, and customers are presently unable to access the network while roaming. We understand how important it is to stay connected, especially when receiving verification codes and accessing essential services, and we regret the inconvenience this situation may have caused.
“Kindly be assured that a notification will be shared once the service has been fully restored and becomes available.”
This message, which was received on June 3, 2025 is yet to be updated by T2mobile thus leaving subscribers, who travelled out of Nigeria and credited their lines with a view to roaming them, in the dark.
In yet another email response to a very concerned subscribers who needed to connect on WhatsApp for work purposes, the T2Mobile, further admitted its global roaming challenges but offered no clarity as to when it would be resolved.
“Thank you for your response and for providing your mobile number 0809xxxxxxx.
“Our checks confirm that your line is currently active on the network.
“Please be informed that the Global Roaming service is currently unavailable. We will notify our customers once the service is fully operational,” the network wrote.
The customer service personnel at T2mobile, who responded to the emailed enquiry, also thought it was the best time to pitch a service for N500 to the aggrieved customer.
“To help retain your number while abroad, you may opt for our Extended SIM Validity Service,” he advised in the email.
He went on to provide the following explanation for the service:
“This service is designed for customers traveling abroad for extended periods and allows SIM validity beyond the standard 360-day period. Kindly note the following:
- It prevents line deactivation due to inactivity.
- It does not prevent barring related to the NIN-SIM integration update.
- The validity period is one (1) year.
- It becomes inactive once the line records any activity (e.g., recharge or chargeable event).
- You can only subscribe once within a 12-month period.
- The service costs ₦500 per year.
- If no Revenue Generating Event (RGE) occurs after the extended validity expires, the line will move to the next lifecycle stage (suspension).
- Once you recharge or perform a Revenue Generating Event, the service will automatically deactivate, and your line will resume the normal lifecycle process.
- The SIM lifecycle extension does not change your current tariff plan or package.
“Should you wish to proceed, we can activate the Extended SIM Validity Service on your line.”
The current roaming challenge is not an isolated case. Nigerian networks including MTN Nigeria, Globacom, Airtel are known to suffer this roaming suspension from time to time. While there are different reasons why this happens, the major one, Business a.m. learnt, has to do with debts owed to partners abroad for roaming on their networks.
